UK engages in Covid vaccine waiver discussions with the US and WTO May 11, 2021 The UK has begun seeking constructive engagement with the US and other World Trade Organisation (WTO) members on the conflicting issue of vaccine waivers, a government spokesman has said. Following pressure from charities to back the proposal, the UK government is yet to confirm whether it will back the US’ waiver. The waiver, proposed by [...]
Growth narrative may shift as pre-pandemic challenges reappear May 10, 2021 Two major events took place in the world’s two largest economies recently that have the potential to directly impact us here in the UK. The first is the passage of President Biden’s $1.9trn stimulus bill in the US last month. The second is the recent meeting of the National People’s Congress in Beijing. Taken together, [...]
City A.M. TV: Daily Market Snapshot (video) April 26, 2021 Since early April, US equity markets have been in a persistent uptrend. That’s been is aided and abetted by (i) notable US dollar weakness; (ii) lower bond yields (resulting in tech outperformance); and (iii) a strong Q1 earnings season, with most US companies surprising markets to the upside. In that respect, and while US equity indices [...]
Biden’s proposal to double capital gains tax turns fragile rebound on its head April 23, 2021 Any economic recovery became a lot harder after last night’s selloff in US markets on reports that President Biden was looking to increase the rate of capital gains tax to 39.6 per cent for those Americans earning $1m a year or more, up from the current rate of 20 per cent, with some wealthier individuals [...]
ECB day and trouble in travel while Bitcoin is oversold April 22, 2021 European futures are trading higher as traders pick up momentum from Wall Street, where we saw the Dow Jones index posting some strong gains. It seems like traders are taking every retracement in the stock market as an opportunity to jump back in or double down on their riskier bets, and this is pushing the [...]
Russian rouble tumbles as threat of US sanctions resurfaces April 15, 2021 The Russian rouble fell two per cent against the dollar on Thursday, giving up gains made earlier this week as the threat of US sanctions on Moscow reared its head again. The US may announce sanctions on Russia as soon as today for alleged interference in its elections and malicious cyber activity targeting several individuals [...]
Biden to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by 11 September April 13, 2021 US President Joe Biden is set to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan over the coming months in time for the 20th anniversary of 9/11, according to reports. It means the US will likely miss a May deadline for a pullout agreed with the Taliban by the Trump administration last year. Biden had previously said the [...]
Biden sets aside $14bn to fight climate change in 2022 budget April 9, 2021 President Joe Biden has proposed $14bn in spending on initiatives to fight climate change in the 2022 budget, including large cash injections for environmental regulation and science research. The proposal underscores the administration’s ambitions to decarbonising the economy by 2050 to stem global warming, reversing a policy direction set by former President Donald Trump to slash red [...]
Biden to create commission to look into expanding Supreme Court April 9, 2021 US President Joe Biden will order the creation of a bipartisan commission to study potential reforms to the Supreme Court, including whether to expand the number of justices. The commission would tackle the “merits and legality” of specific high court reform proposals, the White House said in a statement, along with the contentious idea of [...]
Biden willing to compromise on plans to hike US corporate tax April 8, 2021 US President Joe Biden said last night he is open to compromise on his $2tn (£1.45bn) infrastructure plan amid fiery criticism from businesses over a proposed $2.5tn increase in corporate taxes. Biden faced furious backlash from Republicans, large corporations and members of his own Democratic Party to elements of the proposal he laid last week including major [...]